Refugees condition in Greece ‘shameful’

An international medical aid organization has slammed Greece for its poor reception of refugees and asylum seekers.

“Over the past four months, we have seen no will to improve the reception system [in Greece]. No medical screening is provided for the arrivals and, more importantly, vulnerable people are neglected,” said Kostas Georgakas, the field coordinator of Doctors Without Borders (MSF), on Wednesday.

Georgakas denounced refugees’ living conditions in Greece as “shameful” and “dangerous for their health,” and called on the European country to urgently improve the situation.

“We have seen intolerable overcrowding, with 53 people crammed into a cell meant for six. These conditions are unbearable for even one night, especially for people already suffering physically and psychologically from fleeing war,” Georgakas added.

The MSF reminded the Greek officials of their obligation under international laws to respect the basic rights of refugees and asylum seekers and treat them with dignity.

According to the official reports by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), more than 14,000 refugees have arrived at the Greek Dodecanese islands from Turkey in 2014. Around 90 percent of the refugees are from war-stricken Syria.

Greece and Italy are two of the major destinations of migrants from the violence-ravaged countries of Africa and the Middle East who leave their homelands to take refuge in Europe.